Market sources indicate that domestic producers'
billet prices in the local Turkish market have trended sideways since last week at $525-545/mt ex-works. Availability shortages in
Turkey's Iskenderun region still continue to be seen this week, with insufficient supplies available to be offered. Thus, buyers in the region have focused on import offers, evaluating import
billet offers given from the CIS and China. However, as buyers have failed to obtain their desired prices from the CIS, interest in Chinese offers have increased, with many offers heard from China via international traders to the Iskenderun region this week at $510-520/mt CFR.
On the other hand, ex-CIS
billet offers to
Turkey stand in the range of $510-515/mt CFR for the Izmir and Marmara regions and at $520-525/mt CFR for the Iskenderun region. An important
billet supplier in Ukraine has started to carry out overhaul work, which has caused its inventories to decline, thereby contributing to the firmness of the producer's
billet offers for
Turkey. However, Turkish buyers are stepping up their negotiations for lower prices.